Stringed musical instrument.



PATENTED APR. 11, 1905.

F. X. AUDET. STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1(3,1901.

fiflfitffli M )6 QMM wifizesws Patented April 11, 1905.

PATENT OEEIcE.

FRANK X. AUDET, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,941, dated April11, 1905.

Application filed September 16,1901. Serial No. 75,511.

To all 1072/0721, 712? may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK X. AUDET, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stringed MusicalInstruments; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to stringed musical instruments of thecithern type, particularly to that class of such instruments known astoy harps. In instruments of this class as usually constructed thestrings are tuned to produce when struck in regular order a completescale. The execution upon such instruments of music comprising both amelody and accompanying chords requires in the absence of specialselective devices, such as damping bars or shields, great skill on thepart of the performer, since the strings belonging to the chords of theaccompaniment are separated by intervening strings and must be selectedand separately struck by the performer.

The object of the present invention is to produce a toy harp in which,without the addition of bars, strings, or extra parts of any kind, butby a mere rearrangement of the ordinary complement of strings, theplaying of chords may be facilitated; and to this end the inventionconsists in an instrument having a series of strings tuned to produce,without duplication, all the tones of a scale but arranged, at least inpart, in such order that strings used in playing the principal chordsare adjacent to one another, so that the performer is relieved of thenecessity of selecting and separately striking the strings required toproduce such chords.

The drawing is a plan view of a zither embodying the present invention.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a sounding-board1, strings 2, bridges 3, pins 5, and wrest-pins 6, all of ordinary orsuitable form. The manner in which the strings are arranged is indicatedby the letters and numerals on the sounding-board beneath the strings.The instrument has a series of fifteen strings (exclusive of thelowermost three strings in the figure) tuned to produce when sounded inproper order two octaves of the scale of C; but the lowest four of thesestrings are not arranged in the order of their positions in the scale,but are arranged in such order that strings belonging to the principalchords of the scale are adjacent. The chords to which the strings belongare indicated on the sounding-board by the figures at the right of thebrackets. The upper strings are arranged in the order of the scale.WVith the strings arranged as shown all of the strings of the tone-scaleare employed, as in the ordinary harp, in playing the melody, while allor a part of the same strings may be employed without great skill on thepart of the performer in playing chords. The invention thus retains thecompactness and simplicity of the ordinary harp, while securing also theease of playing previously secured by the addition of independentaccompaniment strings or the use of bars or shields.

In addition to the series of strings arranged as above described theillustrated embodiment of the invention is provided with three bassstrings tuned to lower 0, F, and Gr, re spectively, which may be used tocooperate with the chord-strings to produce chords. These bass stringsare not essential to the invention and maybe omitted in the simplerforms of the instrument.

With the strings arranged as illustrated the principal chords can beplayed with great facility. Thus to play the first chord the thumb isplaced on bass C and the first two lingers or one only, if preferred,are close together on e c. To play the next chord, the whole handremains in exactly the same position and merely moves up one string. Toplay the next chord, the hand is simply moved up another string, and toplay the first chord the hand is moved back to its original position.

The invention being thus described, what is claimed is A stringedmusical instrument having a series of strings tuned to produce all thetones of a scale without duplication, a portion of such strings beingarranged with each string next to and betWeentWo strings tunedrespectively to the next note of the scale above it and the next note ofthe scale below it, and the remainder of such strings being arrangedwith each string next to one forming a chord therewith, substantially asdescribed. T0 In testimony whereof I. aflix in y signature in presenceof two witnesses.

FRANK X. AUDE'L. \Vitnesses:

FRED O. FIsH, ALFRED H. HILDRu'rn.

